Panama City, FL: Food Truck Finds Success in Bay County

When most people hear food trucks, they usually think of a big city, but one of Bay County’s newest restaurants is trying the trend and everyone seems to be on board for the ride.

Late Friday morning, the red food truck rolls up to Diver’s Den off Tyndall Parkway and prepares to open up for business.

“What can I get for you today?” says the woman working the window of the E. Street Café Food Truck to their first customer.

Even with a limited menu, there’s something for everyone in the food truck. Menu items range from fried green tomato BLTs to Korean tacos. The restaurant on wheels opened up in September and relies soley on current customers to bring in new customers.

“Social media has been the corner stone of the business,” said owner Yi Lynne Weber. “I don’t do any print marketing, basically everything is word of mouth.”

So far, the tech savvy approach has worked, from first time customers to dedicated fans.

“We have been following them on Facebook until today,” said first-time guest Stacey York. “A week ago we actually saw that they posted they were coming to this location at Diver’s Den on Tyndall Parkway and we said, okay – we’re going that day.”

“My husband kept sending me pictures of the food, like from Facebook and was like, this is delicious so finally he was like, I’m gonna take you,” said Leslee Johnson, who visits the food truck on a regular basis now.

While the journey to get the truck to Panama City was a long haul, Weber says it was worth every bit of work.

“I’m here and I’m running and I’ve never been happier than doing anything in my entire life.”

And for Weber, it’s about more than just the food. The tag for the truck, “Specializing in the Evolution of Comfort Food,” hopes to take its customers back to their childhood.”

“If I can go out every day and just make somebody say I remember something, this something I remember as a kid eating or this is something that I remember as a kid, just a grown up version that I can appreciate now,” said Weber, “the memories that it evokes, it’s the greatest, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

The E. Street Café Food Truck is open Monday through Friday in various locations throughout Bay County for lunch. You can find them on Facebook to see when they’ll be in your neighborhood.